Talk:Nova/@comment-24796133-20150125213335/@comment-24796133-20150126223615
I sleep through the day, I seem to have become a nocturnal beast, it suits me. A few minutes after waking up I'm craving alcohol. I haven't had it since before Paris, almost two weeks, too long. Since I've become a monster, all my cravings seem to be exaggerated. I hope they fade soon, I don't fancy being distracted by cravings in the middle of a fight. I'm bored quickly, so with nothing else to do, i guess it's time to search the comms station. Despite Ghost's warnings, I'm still going. If it's a trap, I'm prepared now, and I'll take them down. Too much stealth for my liking recently, and we've only been here two days. My boredom threshold is worryingly low, but at least it'll keep my active. I can't try going through the city again, the outskirts it is, too many eyes looking for me in the urban area. And this way I can take a full arsenal. I stock up for the journey, a backpack with food and water, my kobis on it's magnetic sheath, sidearms in their holsters, ammo in my pouches, and submachine gun in my hands, a UMP, lovely. With no track acting as a ring road, i'm travelling across sand, Mosul on my right. I check my TDC for any messages but there's nothing from Jacob, I can only guess that he's doing too well to communicate right now, hopefully he'll message soon with some kind of update so I know he's not been brutally executed or something. That would only be funny for a second, if he had been. The look of surprise on his face would probably crack me up to be honest. I takes a good hour or so to make my way around the entire centre of town before I wind my way back into the outskirts. If my map is correct, I'm close to the building, I should see the spire any second now. I keep looking around but there's no metal spire on the rooftops to head towards. I consult the map again and locate the comms building, then find my bearings. I walk for about a minute and come to the building I assume is the comms station. It's a bit larger than most structures around it, and I think there are the remains of a metal spire on top. It's my best guess. Remembering Ghost's warning, i take a look around, searching for any movement at all, everyone is an enemy after all. Once I'm relatively satisfied, I decide to bugger stealth and head in through the front door. If it's a trap, may as well get it out of the way early. Inside, there are a few old consoles on desks, computers here and there, like a little radio station, nothing extraordinary, and definitely no-one else here. I head over to one of the computers, trying to boot it up. It looks completely dead, and I'm hardly a technical wizard. I'm not entirely sure what I want to achieve with pressing a few buttons, but predictably, nothing happens. Why is this a trap? Unless they're just waiting for me to come out again and smash me to bits. But they'd have to know I'm here first, which they don't. As usual, this makes no sense. I try the back room, and find the fuse boxes smashed open and all of the wires destroyed. That explains the lack of power for this place. I hear a sharp crackle suddenly and then a faint whirring. I turn round and see one of the computer screens is now on. What the hell... I go over to the computer screen and look at the image on the monitor. It's Manhattan, the empire state building in flames, the top half in smoke. The image flickers into a new photo, like a slideshow. This one is Paris, the Eiffel Tower laying in the river. That brings a spout of anger to my head. The next image looks like an industrial city, China at a guess, explosions caught in freeze frame along the streets. This one must have happened recently, maybe even happening now, certainl since I've been in Iraq. Then the voice comes out loud and clear. ''"This is not mindless vandalism, nor pointless terrorism, this is structured revolution, a new era where the dominant species shall take it's righful place as head of this world." ''The voice is coming out over a speaker, it sounds vaguely familiar, and it clicks that this is the same voice from Pluto's initial broadcast, it's him. ''"But you, fellow mutant, you do not see the same. You come here for what purpose? Not peace, not prosperity, but war, war against your own kind. You would kill other mutants to protect these puny humans, when you could so easily cruch them and take rule yourself, you are weak." ''This voice is annoying me, a lot. This could be a pre-recorded message, but either way, someone is here, making sure it was switched on at the right time, unless Pluto himself is here... ''"So, demon, why do you leave behind your kin? Why do you betray us, for them? Do not deny it, we know more than you can imagine, your actions in Paris did not go unnoticed, and nor did the actions of fellow mutants in Manhattan, like yourself, traitors to their kind. You are all merely puppets, tools of humans, used only to slay your own kind, and then thrown away, as you will be. All over the world, mutants have joined us, ready to fight for their survival and rule. But you, and others like you, you will fall by our hand, as all traitors should." '' The voice stops there, and the monitor shuts down. Someone is here. I hear movement above and whirl round, looking up to a walkway above me. There's a figure on it. Shadows hide his features, but the purple eyes are unmistakeable. That is only the beginning though, his frame is huge, at least seven feet tall and built like a rock, I doubt he is wearing any clothing on his top half. I can make out the outline of a sword hilt on his back, no other weapons visible. He vaults over the walkway rail and lands on the ground, a few metres away, still consumed in shadow. "So, demon, have you come to kill me?" He says finally, and suddenly smoke starts seeping out of vents all around the room, quickly clouding the air, making him invisible. So I guess this was the trap. "You are fighting against forces far more powerful than your own, demon." Bad guys do love to monologue don't they. If Pluto is here, does that mean they've killed Jacob? I take a second to think. They can't know he exists, not if they only know me from the Paris attack. Don't say a word to him, keep the silence. Be like Ghost. Where the hell is Ghost when you need him. I hear the blade swinging through the air behind me with enough time to instinctively roll away, drawing my kobis at the same time. This isn't good. My pride is strong, but I don't fancy getting killed, I need a way out. I look up for any way out. Nothing. i try to bring up the image of the building, scanning my mental memory for windows, but I ca only guess. It has to be the door then. Navigating in this smoke is near impossible though. And Pluto is in this smoke. I head towards where I think the door is until I hit the wall, then start sliding one hand across it, finding the way out as quickly as I can. I touch the door just as a hand grabs my neck and lifts me up into the air. I'm brought to within inches of Pluto's face, feet a few inches off the floor. His expression is calm, dark purple eyes, an unmoving mouth, no emotion whatsoever. He tightens the grip, trying to crush my neck as I once did to the soldier. Instead of fear consuming me, anger takes over. I plant one hand on his arm that's holding me, another straight into his face. Both start sizzling and smoking as my burning veins heat up his flesh. The sheer shock more than anything is what probably makes him drop me, and I burst straight out of the door and into the night, not stopping, running full pelt even though I'm sure my neck is almost dead. When I can't run anymore I collapse in the sand, my neck feeling like a wrung towel, almost ruined. Thank god for my new tough skin, or I'd have been dead in those few seconds. I can't help but black out as I see a figure running towards me.